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Zetterberg receives King Clancy Trophy

by
Christy Hammond
/ Detroit Red Wings

For the second time in three years the NHL has recognized Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg for his leadership and humanitarian efforts. (Photo by Getty Images)

DETROIT – The National Hockey League announced today that Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg is the recipient of the 2014-15 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. The award recognizes the NHL player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community. Zetterberg was awarded the trophy on Wednesday night as part of the 2015 NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas.

This honor marks the second award in three seasons that Zetterberg has received for his community contributions. He previously won the NHL Foundation Player Award in 2012-13 along with a $25,000 donation from the NHL to the charity of his choosing. With the help of this donation, the Zetterberg Foundation broke ground on a water project in the village of Kemba, Ethiopia. The water project, to be completed this December, will supply 3,000 people of the village with clean, drinkable water for life.

Zetterberg and his wife Emma give back to the metro Detroit community through numerous initiatives as well as international causes in Ethiopia, Guatemala and Nepal. Zetterberg hosts children’s charities, including Metro Detroit area children’s hospitals and mentoring non-profits, at each Red Wings home game during the regular season in the Zetterberg Foundation Suite. Zetterberg also funds a high school hockey scholarship each year and underwrites the Hockey Weekly's high school all-star banquet.

As the team spokesman for the Red Wings annual smoke detector collection, Zetterberg personally matches all smoke detector donations. Working with area fire departments, more than 28,000 smoke detectors have been distributed since 2001 to low-income and physically-disabled residents, who could otherwise not afford one or be able to install one in their home.

Internationally, Zetterberg and his wife built the Chige Primary School in Kemba, Ethiopia, in cooperation with Action Aid Ethiopia. The school consists of four classrooms and gives 225 children in Kemba access to a primary school education. The Belta Telo Middle School had 780 kids sharing four small classrooms; however, thanks to a donation from the Zetterberg Foundation, a block of four new classrooms were added on to create more room for students to learn. They also support micro-loan programs in Ethiopia and Guatemala to provide women with the opportunity to start their own business and work themselves out of poverty. To date, over 500 women have benefited from these loans. In addition, the Zetterberg Foundation has financed and built six houses for former debt slaves in Nepal.

In the 27-year history of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, Detroit is only the fifth NHL team to have two players receive this honor. Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan won the award in 2003.

One nominee from each club is selected by vote of his fellow players. Voters from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association and NHL Broadcasters’ Association then selected Zetterberg from among the 30 club nominees to win this year’s award.